PREA

The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA)

The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), a federal law enacted in 2003, was created to eliminate sexual abuse and sexual harassment in confinement settings. In addition to providing federal funding for research, programs, training, and technical assistance to address the issue, the legislation mandated the development of national standards. The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission developed recommended national standards for reducing prison rape and addressing sexual harassment concerns. The final standards became effective June 20, 2012, when they were published by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in the Federal Register.

In accordance with the national PREA standards, ComCor has a PREA Coordinator who is responsible for the development, implementation, and oversight essential to demonstrate compliance with the national PREA standards. ComCor also has a PREA Compliance Manager at each facility.

Zero Tolerance Policy

In compliance with Section §115.211 of the PREA regulation, ComCor has established a Zero Tolerance Policy against all forms of sexual abuse and Sexual Harassment. ComCor has outlined a plan specifying the efforts we undertake to prevent, detect, and respond to all allegations of sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment.

This plan is articulated in ComCor’s Policy, PREA-010, Sexual Abuse Prevention and Response, which is available here.

Training and Education

ComCor has designed a comprehensive training plan for all staff that complies with the content of Section §115.231 of the PREA standards. The standard requires that each staff member receive initial PREA training as part of the orientation and introduction to the agency. ComCor also offers PREA refresher trainings to all staff annually. Additionally, ComCor provides PREA trainings for all contractors, volunteers and interns.

All ComCor residential clients, upon initial reception into a ComCor residential program, receive education and training on the requirements of PREA. This training has a particular focus on:

Directions on how to report allegations related to sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment, and

Their right to be free from retaliation for reporting incidents.

Reporting Allegations of Sexual Abuse/Sexual Harassment

Anyone can report an allegation or suspected incident of sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment; including inmates, staff, volunteers, contractors, and/or third parties. This also includes allegations that may have occurred at another correctional facility or at a ComCor facility. ComCor, Inc. responds to all reports of PREA and imposes no statute of limitations on concerns/allegations of sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment reported. At a ComCor facility, there are multiple options to file a report; including, but not limited to:

Colorado Department of Corrections Hotline (1-877-DOC-TIPS).

Contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.

Send a letter to the corporate PREA coordinator

Contact the facility program manager or other ComCor staff member at each ComCor facility.

Staff may report allegations via their chain of command or anonymously through the employee hotline numbers provided.

It is not required that any personal information be provided. However, the more information that can be provided regarding dates, times, locations, witnesses, and as much detail about the alleged incident as is known serves to assist staff and law enforcement in their efforts to successfully conduct the investigations.

Investigations

All allegations of sexual conduct shall be promptly, thoroughly, and objectively investigated. Upon the conclusion of the investigation, each allegation will be classified as “substantiated”, “unsubstantiated”, or “unfounded” using a preponderance of the evidence.

Allegations of sexual abuse will be referred to the appropriate law enforcement agency for criminal investigation and potential prosecution. All substantiated allegations of sexual abuse or sexual harassment will result in the appropriate disciplinary actions taken against the employee, contractor, volunteer, intern or client, and referral for criminal prosecution when applicable.

Facility investigators have all received specialized training, in accordance with §115.234, regarding how to conduct investigations of sexual abuse in the correctional setting. ComCor has established a written agreement with local law enforcement agencies for the prompt investigation for any potential criminal allegations in accordance with §115.221.